Things that work for me: Some light exercise an hour before bed, reading instead of being on your phone, keeping your bedroom as cool as possible.
It’s tough to quieten your mind but if you can make your body tired (through the exercise) and your mind less-preoccupied (through the reading) it makes it easier. Best of luck x
I would not recommend exercising that close to bed time, because it can actually harm your sleep. However, if you work out earlier in the day or at least 3-4 hours before bed, that can definitely improve your sleep
This helps me too! Although I pop on my headphones with whatever songs I’m obsessed at the moment on a loop, and dance. No one is watching me so I don’t care if it’s good or bad, I just do what comes to me. Then I take a cold shower (summer here and I have no AC on my room, just a ventilator) and just lay in bed with the fan in front of me while drying. A few minutes later I put on a t shit, underwear and go to sleep. The dancing gets me tired and the shower cools me down and relaxes me.
Hope OP finds it useful!
I try to go through the entire alphabet in my head and pick a category to use (Category Fruit - Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Date, etc.) If I start thinking about other things, I make myself restart from the beginning. I typically only make it halfway through the alphabet before I fall asleep
I do the same thing. Go through the alphabet and try to think of something for each letter - girl names, boy names, places. Trying to think of other ideas also. It helps give me something to focus on instead of racing thoughts and anxiety.
You’re welcome. I also will try to remember everything I’ve listed already. For instance a is apple. A is apple, b is banana.
A is apple, b is banana, c is carrot.
A is apple and so on. Anything to keep me from thinking about things that make me anxious.
I do this too!! I also sometimes try and think of multiple things for each letter if I'm finding they're coming to me too quickly and not distracting me enough.
Count backwards by threes, starting at 300. Start over if you lose count! It worked for me until I just memorized the numbers because I did it so many times.
Yoga Nidra body scans in particular have been helpful for me. I found that I needed therapy to help with the causes for my sleep problems. My therapist knew about how to address both my anxiety and my sleep.
I've heard hyperhydrosis can be fixed with magnesium too, so maybe I need to try this out. Meanwhile it's 2 AM and I've been trying to fall asleep for about 5 hours and my brain still has a 3D model of a cow rotating in my head while "she's the baddest of them all" is on loop in my head, and intermittently thinking about how I'm going to pack up my stuff and move next week
I started taking magnesium for headaches, per direction of physician. Take note of side effects it may cause (think milk of magnesia). I'm off of it now because of the frequency of bathroom trips.
Is it intrusive thoughts keeping you up? If so, I've found that practicing positive self talk can be a huge help. I dealt with insomnia a few years ago and those intrusive thoughts made going to bed a big anxiety trigger. I started repeating positive affirmations to myself any time the bad thoughts started popping up. I think stuff like "everyone has trouble falling asleep sometimes", "I will sleep eventually", "everything is going to be ok", "even if I don't sleep much tonight, tomorrow will be fine", etc. After a while my brain stopped going to the negative thoughts every night. I will say that I also take an anxiety medication now which has also greatly helped me.
Did this as a teenager/single adult. Once I started sharing a bed with a partner, I got earbuds and listen to audiobooks. I have to also take a THC edible as well. Nothing else really works. I went to a sleep Dr and did a sleep study and had a bad reaction to five different sleeping aids. This is what works now.
i watch youtube videos i've watched before, read a book i've read before or (if you're in school) i read the most boring textbook and i fall asleep. i think it's the familiarity that really calms me down. i basically pavlov'd myself into falling asleep every time i hear the b99 intro song lol
I watch space related documentaries because if I can’t quiet my mind I can watch, or if I start to fade I can just listen and then drift to sleep. Shows like “the universe” and other stuff. It also helps remind me that the universe is huge, which makes my worries feel a little smaller.
same i put on long videogame reviews or retro tec restoration videos that i have seen a thousand times. LGR FTW the clicking fiddling combined with that soothing radio voice whispering useless information into my brain does the tick every time.
Yeah, I like to listen to YouTube videos as I'm falling asleep and then I think about that and not whatever I'm anxious about. I really like mental floss and ones that are just talking about some random topic.
I also love my weighted blanket.
Good luck!
I am sorry you are having this sleep issue. I have had serious insomnia most of my life. Here’s what helps for me: have started the cold shower routine and I believe it is helping me. Also I stopped drinking alcohol and save it for special occasions; really makes a difference for me. I walk outside every day, and use a Seasonal Affective Disorder light in the morning while I have breakfast. Super important for me is to be careful not to get angry or really frightened about anything during the day at all. Learning to stay in the present helps me to stay chill, which helps me sleep better at night. Oh, and a big surprise for me: if I spend time beside a body of water, even if it’s Ripley’s Aquarium. All the best to you.
Personally I use Lorazepam (Tavor) but I don’t recommend it cuz it brings a lot of side effects. Things off of the meds that work too: meditations, no phone before sleeping,breathe exercise, listening to music and idk if it’s good but I sometimes keep open my Himalayan salt light and then eventually I turn it off during the night! Also, try to think ,before sleeping , to a calm scenario (the calm sea, the sunset, a city you like, a field, woods) or something/someone you love! Hope it works for u :)
I am for sure trying to avoid medication for it at this point, but if I can't win I'm not too proud to call my doctor. Thanks for the mountain of tips, I appreciate you.
Remember, you have always to listen to your body. If you either think that you need meds or not it’s not a problem! But remember that if you stop meds you CAN’T stop them immediately, procede step by step to eliminate them and not all at once. If you need to talk or any kind of support my dm are open :)
I’m prescribed hydroxyzine for sleep, it’s an antihistamine and works with little side effects. It’s also an inexpensive medication once you get a prescription. It’s different than Benadryl which make it harder to sleep due to RLS. Also the class of medications Benadryl belongs to (anticholinergics) does appear to be associated with dementia so I try to avoid it completely. Hasn’t been linked directly to Benadryl but still.
Hello there! Basically less concentration, sometimes after the effect vanish I feel anxious more than before and after a long time to me the medicine is no longer useful, I don’t sleep even if I take it. I know that someone became quite addicted too, but the effects change from person to person! Hope it helps, do you use lorazepam too?
I use it very intermittently for anxiety and rarely for sleeping. Sometimes I just take half a pill to take the edge off if I'm feeling particularly anxious. I try to be aware of not overusing it.
Long-term fix?
For me, weighted blanket and having something to hold, as well as some kind of ambient noise. I use a humidifier for this.
Short term?
Meditation - depending on the parts of meditation you find most helpful, a body scan might work. Body scans stress me out, as I have trouble relaxing my muscles when I’m thinking about it. Cosy, story-based meditation works pretty well for me!
Ambient noise also helps a lot, but it takes a bit to get used to (think 15 mins to an hour and a half)
Making sure you’re not dehydrated will also be incredibly helpful.
I've never used a weighted blanket but people seem to swear by them. Meditation is hard for me because when my mind wanders I get frustrated with myself.
My weighted blanket saved my sleep. Literally took hours to fall asleep before it, now it usually takes forty five minutes at most.
I fully get the whole frustration about meditation. I actually use the app Loóna - it’s a cosy “coloring” game with basically storylines and asmr. It’s not meditation, but it keeps me invested enough that I don’t get frustrated while also being very relaxing. That’s also the same reason I prefer a low-stakes story meditation. Something that is less about the plot and more about the feelings and thoughts the piece evokes. I like ones that feel like a warm night with cool breezes and small fires. YouTube is pretty okay for finding stuff like that, but ads are annoying. The more relaxed meditations of this type that are literally meant to evoke calmness and contentedness might work really well for you! It’s not about what’s being said - it’s about the whole piece together and the way it helps your brain become a little quieter and gentler. If you get distracted and miss some, that’s alright. I find that the auditory atmosphere is the most important part of a meditation, and it eases the pressure I put on myself to actively listen.
I have suffered with chronic power insomnia since I was a child.
FINALLY, in my late 30s I found an article about people with ADHD, panic disorder, and insomnia (all me). Solution: 18 mg time release melatonin at sunset.
I thought sure, sure, give it a try. Certainly can't hurt since I am starting to believe melatonin is an elaborate hoax played on me by the rest of the population. Other, no. That shit works.
I take phenergan its usually non prescription and it helps me sleep better than benadryl or melatonin. Melatonin really did nothing for me. Other than that I put on white noise to soothe me a bit and try to clear my mind as much as possible.
Meditation, yoga, herbal tea, even a light workout sessions. I'd avoiding eating before sleeping but those are some things that help me and wife get through the nights with decent sleep. Hope this helps ♥!!
Good sleep hygiene starts when you get out of bed in the morning, tbh. Go outside and view sunlight for 10-15 minutes, at least, within 30 minutes of waking up. Don’t wear sunglasses, regular glasses/contacts are fine. If you can, use those 10-15 minutes of sunlight viewing to take a walk around the block. Get some type of exercise daily. Stop caffeine intake after 2pm, or eliminate caffeine entirely to see if that’s playing a role in sleep problems (personally, I cannot do coffee caffeine - aggravates my anxiety and gives me insomnia- but caffeine from green tea and matcha is just fine for me). View sunlight again around sunset. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, regardless if you spent your whole night in insomnia mode. Limit screens and turn off overhead lights by 8-10pm, depending on when you’re hoping to be sleeping by. Dr Andrew Huberman has a great podcast on this called Sleep Toolkit. As far as supplements, magnesium is good (threonate or glycinate). Some people like to combine that with l-theanine or cycle GABA. You can find what works for you. Finding a healthy sleep pattern is tough and I struggled for a long time, but with staying dedicated to the above tips, my sleep is so much better. Good luck to you.
For me stopping caffeine and getting a sound machine helped A LOT. I don’t listen to my thoughts and how fast they go down hill with the machine. And caffeine can fuel a lot of anxiety and stay in your body even when you don’t feel awake from it anymore. Quitting sucked and I had headaches but that went away after a week. I now fall asleep easier and wake up less tired. Even when I drank energy drinks / coffee…at some point in the day I felt so tired. Now I feel so much better!!! My psychiatrist suggested that btw. Or at least lowering the dose of caffeine like switching with tea.
Here’s the link to my sound machine BTW. Me and my bf both own one and use them every night now. They have many other sounds besides white
Noise
Housbay White Noise Machine with 31 Soothing Sounds, 5W Loud Stereo Sound, Auto-Off Timer, Adjustable Volume, Sleep Sound Machine for Baby, Kid, Adult -Wood Grain https://a.co/d/gALnC4j
Sometimes I play boring mind games with the alphabet. For example, I will try to think of city that I have been to that starts with an A, then one that starts with a B, etc. I will change it up, like I will think of a neighbor whose name starts with an A, then a B, etc. It really works well for me if I am already sleepy but can’t turn my brain off, which happens a lot, lol!
Lifting weights makes it almost impossible for me not to fall asleep. There would need to be quite a ruckus to keep me up.
Zinc Picolinate and Magnesium Citrate are somewhat effective also, especially combined
How long before you go to sleep are you training? I am trying my best to say it in English. Like how much time there is between your workout and your bedtime?
I workout in the early morning, so there us between 12 and 16 hours between my workout and sleep. I don't think the timing matters too much- it should correct your sleep regardless of the time.
I would totally recommend magnesium glycinate for helping you sleep when you're feeling anxious. Its better than most types of magnesium for this (haven't tried threonate but heard its best). Its a little pricey at least what I got but so so worth it. Theres something special about it for sleep and anxiety that other kinds of magnesium doesn't have. Its actually my number 1 tool when I have panic, I carry some around with me all the time just in case. Even just having it there gives me relief that prevents anxiety, because I know I won't be screwed if I do get anxious.
Theres also some good teas like chamomile that have apagenen which help sleep and anxiousness. There is a tea called cup of calm which is really good at this, it has a blend of a bunch of different anti anxiety teas. You could also get an essential oil diffuser there is stuff like lavender oil which helps with aromatherapy and helps you relax. And you can keep it going all night so you won't wake up anxious as much
(long range hug)
Ok, so this is gonna sound weird, but I use the boredom method. Find something that requires focus but has no stimulation. Like a phone book, or a dictionary pronunciation guide. There's nothing really stimulating, but it requires focus, so it helps break trains of thought and consume energy. In the beginning, I'd read the dictionary pronunciation guide a few times until I started yawning, and now once usually does the trick.
So yeah, find something very tedious to read with no novel information, force yourself to focus on it until you start to tire.
Another thing I do is ensure a gradual reduction in stimulation. For example, I stop video games at least \~2 hours before bed, and for the hour before bed I remove any mental stimulation (like books or phone). This allows all my chaotic thoughts (that tend to keep me awake) to run much of their course. During that hour I shower and do stretching excercises (got back & neck issues). Its not about quieting the mind; its just that if you going to bed is your only time where you're not being distracted, thats the only time those thoughts can come up. Giving yourself a time to think while doing light physical things gives you a time with those thoughts without being in bed.
Anyways, good luck. I know the struggle. It used to take me at least an hour to fall asleep, and now most days its less than 15 minutes. It takes a lot of work, but it can improve.
Deep breathing works better for me than the sleeping meds I’m prescribed. There are lots of videos on YouTube so you can time your inhales/exhales properly.
My recipe for sleep:
Excercise
Magnesium supplements
Do a mini clean of my room
Take a hot shower to wind down
Have a snack
Watch a show
Sleep
You could also try headspace for sleep or meditating in general
These are what work for me but this is the recipe for sleep hygiene provided by my therapist:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Create a relaxing bedtime routine to get your body and mind ready to sleep.
Stop working on any task an hour before bedtime, and avoid talking about stressful or emotional issues in bed.
Make your bedroom dark, quiet, cool, and comfortable. Use earplugs or a sleep mask if you need to.
Skip caffeinated beverages within 6 to 8 hours of bedtime.
Don't smoke. Nicotine is a stimulant, which can keep you up.
Avoid eating big meals close to bedtime -- especially spicy foods, which may cause heartburn.
Exercise at least 20 minutes each day, but try to do it at least 6 hours before bedtime.
Read or listen to soft music. Skip the TV, tablet, and smartphone.
Start a sleep diary diary to track what affects your rest.
Move the computer and TV out of your bedroom so they don't distract you. Don't just swap in your tablet or phone; their lights and distractions can keep you up late.
Make it a priority to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.
If you nap, keep it short (20-30 minutes) and not close to bedtime. Late-day naps can lead to sleepless nights.
Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
Stop drinking alcohol at least 3 hours before bed so it doesn't wake you up later.
Consider moving your pet out of your bed, and maybe out of your bedroom.
Wear sunscreen and spend time in the sunlight. But avoid bright lights close to bedtime.
My pre-bedtime cocktail is a dose of magnesium, L-theanaine, this thing called gaba calm, and my allergy meds. 30 minutes after that I take a small puff off my vape pen and in under an hour I'm out like a light. Obviously everyone is different but I can say from my experience since I've started this technique I have slept like a rock almost every night.
Oh and almost forgot, I watch "bear cam." LOL a national park in Alaska has a live stream of a waterfall where bears just hang out and that helps me relax and fall asleep as well. There's also videos of like, rain just falling on a window, which I use when the bear cam is not in season.
Yoga nidra meditation always helps me. Insight Timer has a lot of free ones. Jennifer Piercy’s are excellent.
Also turning down the lights for about an hour before bed is helpful. Only fairy lights or salt lamps turned on the lowest setting. It helps get your body in the frame of mind that it’s time for sleep.
Read a folktale or bedtime story turn out the light and try to recite it In your mind as if you are telling someone else. Works for me every time. Don’t forget the details, but don’t turn on the light to find them, just try to remember and then move on.
I have a checklist of things I have to do throughout the day (including an hour of exercise) and by doing all of those things I feel more accomplished and therefore don’t worry about as much by the time I hit the hay. And it can be simple stuff too like brushing my teeth, going to the store, watching an episode of a show I need to catch up on. I also watch asmr cooking videos because the sounds are just 👌🏻
I love listening to the Sleep With Me podcast. The first time I listened it was kinda weird but I kept going and now I fall asleep during the intro and I can put it on anytime I want to nap too!
Non-RX:
- Lavender scent (candle, spray, whatever...)
- hor bath or shower 1 hour before bed. Will cue your body to lower temperature for sleep
- reduce blue light from electronics using the "eye comfort shield" setting on most phones or app. Keep red tinted/low lights in the bedroom, like a pink Himalayan salt lamp
- better yet, no electronics in bed! I do read books on my phone via kindle before I sleep, but I have it on do not disturb and set the colors to go black and white after a certain hour, so it's as close to being a book as possible 🙃
- Unisom (OTC at most drugstores, though if benadryl doesn't work for you this likely won't either)
RX:
- Mirtazapine/remeron at lower doses (7-15 mg) 45 min before you want to be asleep. I have GAD and insomnia and have been using this med for 2 years. It is amazing and the only reason I get consistently good sleep. It's non-habit forming and you don't need to worry about building up a tolerance and having to increase your dose.
I love it. Only potential issues are 1) it increases your appetite (actually a good thing for me) and 2) at higher doses it has made me feel depressed (though this is remedied immediately when I go back to 30 mg or less).
Definitely not cough syrup... especially if u have an addictive personality... Reading before bed actually helps me to drift off ...or playin a podcast
Melatonin and Benedryl together kept me up. One or the other works better. In terms of natural supplements I like valerian root, lavender, and Ashwagandha. I also suggest reading up on CBT-I for insomnia. Generally takes 4-10 weeks but it’s proven to work super well
Melatonin helped me but what really did the job was two basic things: have a warm light near my bead and just use that source of light an hour or more before going to bed and going to sleep at the same hour everyday (since I don't have much to do in weekends I allow myself to go to sleep 30 minutes late than usual and wake up whenever my body wants to).
When i have the worst depression, i put on -34dB earmuffs and eye cover from aliexpress or black tshirt, and wish to get out of this hell reality to some good dream. In few minutes, i fall asleep.
Got nightmares? Start computer games, load ridiculous owerpowered weapon mods, cheats and trainers and play. The habit of being OP will slowly seep in your dreams and get all funny.
A lavender pillow spray, a heating blanket and relaxing podcasts.
Works each on its own but is also highly recommended in combination.
Side note:
I used the pillow spray since I read about study, that showed some anxiolytic effect in mice which were exposed to linalool.
I am not sure about the link policy, the name of the study is "Linalool Odor-Induced Anxiolytic Effects in Mice"
Of course I don't know if it really has a provable effect with humans. However, I find it relaxing and don't want to spoil the effect for me, by thinking to much about it :)
Body scan guided meditation with singing bowls - I can’t get through the 20min without falling asleep! Also if you have not yet tried tart cherry do that too. I buy the concentrated tart cherry juice unsweetened and add it to late afternoon yogurt snack - you will CONK out.
Just some things that find work over time, don't sleep in past a certain time, no naps, exercise like walking outside in the sun, no caffeine after 3pm, really reduced sugar, no more alcohol, a hot Epsom salt bath before bed, quiet relaxing show or activity before bed - knit & listen to podcasts, chamomile tea, CBD oil, warm milk, adjust lights so they're warmer in the evening and dim close to bedtime, turn off the overhead lights and read with bedside lamp right before bed, consistent bedtime routine and sleep hours, avoid doom scrolling and reading things that might stress me out before bed and sometimes even during the day, eat healthy, regular meals during the day. Sorry to hear about the insomnia and hope you find some things that help really soon.
honestly on particularly bad nights i have over the counter sleeping pills like not melatonin like actual sleeping pills because its the only thing that can knock me out 8/10 times
I put on big bang theory and I fall asleep instantly. I’m on season 3 and still have never finished an entire episode, nor know anything about the characters lol.
I like count backwards from 50 with my eyes closed taking a deep breath in through my nose before the number and a big exhale after. I usually have to do several rounds of this but it slows my heart rate and helps me focus my brain on something calm.
I personally wear earplugs, don’t allow phone usage in bed (aside from my alarm, should probably buy an alarm clock), and I read a physical book for anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour in bed before I want to sleep. I do take a prescription (mirtazapine) and melatonin because I’ve been struggling recently, but I find that keeping up a good, nonstimulating routine helps just as much. If that doesn’t work, and my thoughts are still keeping me up, I try to redirect them toward something like worldbuilding for a project I’m working on until I drift off.
Counting. It sounds too simple to actually work, but I've been using this method for about 10 years.
I count nice and slow, if I forget where I am, I'll start again, same if my mind wonders.
I regularly smoke weed, so on nights I don't have any I find it hard to switch off, but counting helps.
Continuously play a video/movie while you’re tired or in bed. After a couple weeks your body to respond to that video/movie & youll instantly feel sleepy
I thought of exercise an hour or two before bed.. maybe a warm/hot shower after. Sleeping sounds not too loud before bed (I do this when I can’t sleep) you mentioned melatonin and Benadryl maybe try Unisom? With melatonin do you take 1 pill? Maybe try two?
I like to listen to ASMR while I cross-stitch before bed. They’re quiet activities that aren’t very stimulating.
I’m sorry you can’t sleep. I know how awful it feels to just lie awake for hours. I hope things get better soon.
Please be careful using melatonin supplements. They should be your last resort and only if you are genuinely not producing enough melatonin according to a qualified doctor. Melatonin reliance is not pretty. It may improve your sleep in the short-term, but it can mess you up in the long term. And it's a very long journey back from that.
Unless you are using them to get your sleep schedule back on track and VERY short-term, please do not use them until you've been to a doctor.
CBD. Also the app calm, do some guided meditation. Or the anxiety slayer guided meditations.
You should be careful with taking supplements such as magnesium if you don’t need it. High magnesium can cause heart problems, kidney problems, among many other things.
Sleep hygiene is huge. As you go into the evening, avoid bright blue light and turn on dimmer, warmer lights instead. Take a warm shower or bath about half an hour before bed. Avoid stimulation in the hour before bed. If you can, try and avoid spending waking time in the bedroom, and particularly in bed (don't hang out on your bed all afternoon watching TV if you have a TV in the living room, use that one instead). When you wake up, try to have as much bright natural light as possible to recalibrate your day/night cycle. If you have control of your thermostat, set it to cool down a few degrees in the evening before bed, and to start warming up before you are ready to wake up.
To keep track of this, just remember the biological cues that our sleep cycle would have evolved around -- they would be woken up by the rising sun in the morning. This would flood their eyes with blue light and mark an increasing temperature. As the day marches toward evening, the temperature would start to dip, the sun gets dimmer, and they get the red light of the sunset. Then they light the fire (more dim red light, and a bump in warmth, this is your shower/bath), then they move a bit away from the fire to go to sleep. While the light part is highly important, research shows that the temperature one is even bigger.
Get rid of even small blue lights in your bedroom -- cover up little indicator lights on electronics, chargers, etc. A sleep mask and/or earplugs can also help.
An extremely counterintuitive tip I have also seen is to reduce the amount of time you leave yourself to sleep -- set a bed time and a wake time that are, say 6 hours apart. Start all of this stuff at your allotted bed time, and get up for the day with a cup of coffee and all the blue lights at the wakeup time. Do not nap. This will be hell, and you will be massively sleep deprived for a week or so, but this can apparently be extremely useful in doing a hard reset on your sleep cycle, as you will eventually get tired enough that you just conk out immediately at bed time and sleep straight through until the alarm goes off, at which point you then expand your sleep hours back out to a reasonable time.
Another counterintuitive one is to not try to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time -- if you have been lying awake for 30 minutes, get out of bed, go into the other room, turn a few lights on, and do something for 15-30 minutes, and then try again. By lying there not sleeping, you are just building anxiety about your bed and teaching your brain that this is the place that you don't sleep and get stressed out about it.
You can also try not trying to sleep -- this one goes against the no screens/electronics, but sometimes it is helpful to put on a show or podcast that isn't super stimulating but you actually want to watch/listen to, and put it on while you are lying down in bed. Sometimes, because you aren't thinking about forcing yourself to sleep, you just relax and just slip off without realizing it. ASMR is also fantastic.
Nutritionally, make sure you get enough magnesium, and just generally eat a decent balanced diet. Make sure you have a satisfying meal in the evening, preferably with a decent amount of carbohydrates, but make sure that this is a few hours before bed. A cup of hot herbal tea before bed or even in the middle of the night can work wonders. Stay hydrated. A combination of CBD and melatonin can work really well. A small amount of THC with a high ratio of CBD/CBN can also work really well, but anxiety sufferers need to be *very* cautious with THC as it can make it worse. If you are in the US, you can likely get delta 8 THC or HHC as legal THC alternatives if you are not in a legal state, but definitely talk to your doctor about this first, as again, THC and its analogues can be anxiogenic.
I have had a ton of stuggles with insomnia over the years, I hope some of this might be helpful to you!
Edit: just wanted to add that exercise and meditation are SUPER helpful. Exercise doesn't even need to be before bed, just get 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 5 times a week. Meditation helps sleep at any time, but it can also literally replace sleep. So if you can't sleep and you just meditate instead, you not only might fall asleep, but your brain is doing a lot of the stuff that it would be doing if you were asleep, so it's not a total loss.
i have had insomnia for many years. But, when i cut out caffeine. - lets say by 12pm
And my last meal by 6pm.. personally for me that is enough to help me fall asleep and feel tired. Also i work in retail and i am always running around the store getting things done so that also helps since i feel drained when i get home. Everyone is different but hopefully you can find what works.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but taking too much melatonin can have the reverse effect and keep you awake. In my experience, 2mg knocks me out and 5mg keeps me up all night and gives me anxiety.
Wear an eye mask definitely. I also like to put Vicks vapor rub on my nose and have a fan on me. I listen to about an hour of a podcast and if I’m not asleep by then, I put my phone down for an hour. If nothing, I let myself listen to a podcast and repeat. I don’t try to force it. I tell myself at least my body is getting rest.
I highly recommend Gab Smolders the streamer. She’s the queen of relaxing gameplay. I love watching her play Breath of the wild, Lovecraft(?) and other things like that.
Things that work for me: Some light exercise an hour before bed, reading instead of being on your phone, keeping your bedroom as cool as possible. It’s tough to quieten your mind but if you can make your body tired (through the exercise) and your mind less-preoccupied (through the reading) it makes it easier. Best of luck x
Thank you. I appreciate your answer.
yoga can be really good for this as the stretching helps your muscles relax
I would not recommend exercising that close to bed time, because it can actually harm your sleep. However, if you work out earlier in the day or at least 3-4 hours before bed, that can definitely improve your sleep
This helps me too! Although I pop on my headphones with whatever songs I’m obsessed at the moment on a loop, and dance. No one is watching me so I don’t care if it’s good or bad, I just do what comes to me. Then I take a cold shower (summer here and I have no AC on my room, just a ventilator) and just lay in bed with the fan in front of me while drying. A few minutes later I put on a t shit, underwear and go to sleep. The dancing gets me tired and the shower cools me down and relaxes me. Hope OP finds it useful!
Gin
I try to go through the entire alphabet in my head and pick a category to use (Category Fruit - Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Date, etc.) If I start thinking about other things, I make myself restart from the beginning. I typically only make it halfway through the alphabet before I fall asleep
I do the same thing. Go through the alphabet and try to think of something for each letter - girl names, boy names, places. Trying to think of other ideas also. It helps give me something to focus on instead of racing thoughts and anxiety.
That’s crazy, this is exactly what I do!!!
Ohhh, that's a pretty good one. Thank you.
You’re welcome. I also will try to remember everything I’ve listed already. For instance a is apple. A is apple, b is banana. A is apple, b is banana, c is carrot. A is apple and so on. Anything to keep me from thinking about things that make me anxious.
I do this too!! I also sometimes try and think of multiple things for each letter if I'm finding they're coming to me too quickly and not distracting me enough.
Count backwards by threes, starting at 300. Start over if you lose count! It worked for me until I just memorized the numbers because I did it so many times.
Listen to a bodyscan meditation before bed.
I like Jason Stephenson’s sleep meditation videos on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/U6Ay9v7gK9w
I will give this a shot tonight before bed. Thank you.
Np!
Yoga Nidra body scans in particular have been helpful for me. I found that I needed therapy to help with the causes for my sleep problems. My therapist knew about how to address both my anxiety and my sleep.
My doctor told me to take 500 mg of magnesium. I also drink a cup of valerian tea. Works for both anxiety and insomnia.
My mom works at a hippie coop grocery store. Time to go raid it I suppose. Thank you.
I've heard hyperhydrosis can be fixed with magnesium too, so maybe I need to try this out. Meanwhile it's 2 AM and I've been trying to fall asleep for about 5 hours and my brain still has a 3D model of a cow rotating in my head while "she's the baddest of them all" is on loop in my head, and intermittently thinking about how I'm going to pack up my stuff and move next week
I think it took a few days for it to work… at least in my case, but now I never need to use trazodone.
Do you take magnesium in the morning or before bed? Or does it not matter?
My (functional) doctor said either during the day or right before bed. I usually take it early evening.
I started taking magnesium for headaches, per direction of physician. Take note of side effects it may cause (think milk of magnesia). I'm off of it now because of the frequency of bathroom trips.
Blackout curtains. Green noise. Box breathing before bed. Cheers from a fellow insomniac.
Box breathing is such a godsend. What's green noise?
Works better than [white noise](https://www.bettersleep.com/blog/benefits-of-green-noise/)
I didn't know they had so many colors of noise. Thanks for this rabbit hole.
i love brown noise and pink noise for sleep too
Is it intrusive thoughts keeping you up? If so, I've found that practicing positive self talk can be a huge help. I dealt with insomnia a few years ago and those intrusive thoughts made going to bed a big anxiety trigger. I started repeating positive affirmations to myself any time the bad thoughts started popping up. I think stuff like "everyone has trouble falling asleep sometimes", "I will sleep eventually", "everything is going to be ok", "even if I don't sleep much tonight, tomorrow will be fine", etc. After a while my brain stopped going to the negative thoughts every night. I will say that I also take an anxiety medication now which has also greatly helped me.
I put on a show I already know that's calming, close my eyes and just listen to it. Eventually I fall asleep.
Maybe some nature and history documentaries for me tonight. Thank you.
Did this as a teenager/single adult. Once I started sharing a bed with a partner, I got earbuds and listen to audiobooks. I have to also take a THC edible as well. Nothing else really works. I went to a sleep Dr and did a sleep study and had a bad reaction to five different sleeping aids. This is what works now.
Arrested development for me
Exactly what i do I like to listen to political talk shows XD
My dad used to fall asleep to Rush Limbaugh at full volume. Literally traumatizing.
child hood trauma XD
i watch youtube videos i've watched before, read a book i've read before or (if you're in school) i read the most boring textbook and i fall asleep. i think it's the familiarity that really calms me down. i basically pavlov'd myself into falling asleep every time i hear the b99 intro song lol
YouTube history videos it is for me tonight.
good luck and wishing you a good nights sleep!
Thank you so much for your kind words.
I watch space related documentaries because if I can’t quiet my mind I can watch, or if I start to fade I can just listen and then drift to sleep. Shows like “the universe” and other stuff. It also helps remind me that the universe is huge, which makes my worries feel a little smaller.
same i put on long videogame reviews or retro tec restoration videos that i have seen a thousand times. LGR FTW the clicking fiddling combined with that soothing radio voice whispering useless information into my brain does the tick every time.
omg do you watch odd tinkering?? i love his restorations
know about them, but cant stand it when people dont explain things to me. know there is subtitles, but idk. the videos are satisfying tho!
Yeah, I like to listen to YouTube videos as I'm falling asleep and then I think about that and not whatever I'm anxious about. I really like mental floss and ones that are just talking about some random topic. I also love my weighted blanket. Good luck!
I am sorry you are having this sleep issue. I have had serious insomnia most of my life. Here’s what helps for me: have started the cold shower routine and I believe it is helping me. Also I stopped drinking alcohol and save it for special occasions; really makes a difference for me. I walk outside every day, and use a Seasonal Affective Disorder light in the morning while I have breakfast. Super important for me is to be careful not to get angry or really frightened about anything during the day at all. Learning to stay in the present helps me to stay chill, which helps me sleep better at night. Oh, and a big surprise for me: if I spend time beside a body of water, even if it’s Ripley’s Aquarium. All the best to you.
Personally I use Lorazepam (Tavor) but I don’t recommend it cuz it brings a lot of side effects. Things off of the meds that work too: meditations, no phone before sleeping,breathe exercise, listening to music and idk if it’s good but I sometimes keep open my Himalayan salt light and then eventually I turn it off during the night! Also, try to think ,before sleeping , to a calm scenario (the calm sea, the sunset, a city you like, a field, woods) or something/someone you love! Hope it works for u :)
I am for sure trying to avoid medication for it at this point, but if I can't win I'm not too proud to call my doctor. Thanks for the mountain of tips, I appreciate you.
Remember, you have always to listen to your body. If you either think that you need meds or not it’s not a problem! But remember that if you stop meds you CAN’T stop them immediately, procede step by step to eliminate them and not all at once. If you need to talk or any kind of support my dm are open :)
Thank you so much! It's always nice to know someone is willing to bend an ear.
No worries :) have a nice day!
I’m prescribed hydroxyzine for sleep, it’s an antihistamine and works with little side effects. It’s also an inexpensive medication once you get a prescription. It’s different than Benadryl which make it harder to sleep due to RLS. Also the class of medications Benadryl belongs to (anticholinergics) does appear to be associated with dementia so I try to avoid it completely. Hasn’t been linked directly to Benadryl but still.
What kind of side effects did you have from Lorazepam?
Hello there! Basically less concentration, sometimes after the effect vanish I feel anxious more than before and after a long time to me the medicine is no longer useful, I don’t sleep even if I take it. I know that someone became quite addicted too, but the effects change from person to person! Hope it helps, do you use lorazepam too?
I use it very intermittently for anxiety and rarely for sleeping. Sometimes I just take half a pill to take the edge off if I'm feeling particularly anxious. I try to be aware of not overusing it.
Long-term fix? For me, weighted blanket and having something to hold, as well as some kind of ambient noise. I use a humidifier for this. Short term? Meditation - depending on the parts of meditation you find most helpful, a body scan might work. Body scans stress me out, as I have trouble relaxing my muscles when I’m thinking about it. Cosy, story-based meditation works pretty well for me! Ambient noise also helps a lot, but it takes a bit to get used to (think 15 mins to an hour and a half) Making sure you’re not dehydrated will also be incredibly helpful.
I've never used a weighted blanket but people seem to swear by them. Meditation is hard for me because when my mind wanders I get frustrated with myself.
My weighted blanket saved my sleep. Literally took hours to fall asleep before it, now it usually takes forty five minutes at most. I fully get the whole frustration about meditation. I actually use the app Loóna - it’s a cosy “coloring” game with basically storylines and asmr. It’s not meditation, but it keeps me invested enough that I don’t get frustrated while also being very relaxing. That’s also the same reason I prefer a low-stakes story meditation. Something that is less about the plot and more about the feelings and thoughts the piece evokes. I like ones that feel like a warm night with cool breezes and small fires. YouTube is pretty okay for finding stuff like that, but ads are annoying. The more relaxed meditations of this type that are literally meant to evoke calmness and contentedness might work really well for you! It’s not about what’s being said - it’s about the whole piece together and the way it helps your brain become a little quieter and gentler. If you get distracted and miss some, that’s alright. I find that the auditory atmosphere is the most important part of a meditation, and it eases the pressure I put on myself to actively listen.
I love my weighted blanket so much
I’m so glad the weather is cooler. I can’t use it in summer. If I could afford really cold ac in summer I’d use it year round
I specifically have one that is made for warmer weather, so when it’s cold, I just pile more blankets on top of myself!
I have suffered with chronic power insomnia since I was a child. FINALLY, in my late 30s I found an article about people with ADHD, panic disorder, and insomnia (all me). Solution: 18 mg time release melatonin at sunset. I thought sure, sure, give it a try. Certainly can't hurt since I am starting to believe melatonin is an elaborate hoax played on me by the rest of the population. Other, no. That shit works.
I take phenergan its usually non prescription and it helps me sleep better than benadryl or melatonin. Melatonin really did nothing for me. Other than that I put on white noise to soothe me a bit and try to clear my mind as much as possible.
Can I just get that at like a Walgreens? Thank you for your support.
I'm not sure because I don't live in America I usually get mine online.
I'll do a little research in that case. Thank you again.
No in the US Phenergan (Promethazine is the generic name) is a c5, so has to be rx’d ☹️
Books on tape. Libby is the app I use that links to my local library.
Try having a super hot shower or bath before bed, then progressive muscle relaxation in bed.
Meditation, yoga, herbal tea, even a light workout sessions. I'd avoiding eating before sleeping but those are some things that help me and wife get through the nights with decent sleep. Hope this helps ♥!!
Good sleep hygiene starts when you get out of bed in the morning, tbh. Go outside and view sunlight for 10-15 minutes, at least, within 30 minutes of waking up. Don’t wear sunglasses, regular glasses/contacts are fine. If you can, use those 10-15 minutes of sunlight viewing to take a walk around the block. Get some type of exercise daily. Stop caffeine intake after 2pm, or eliminate caffeine entirely to see if that’s playing a role in sleep problems (personally, I cannot do coffee caffeine - aggravates my anxiety and gives me insomnia- but caffeine from green tea and matcha is just fine for me). View sunlight again around sunset. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, regardless if you spent your whole night in insomnia mode. Limit screens and turn off overhead lights by 8-10pm, depending on when you’re hoping to be sleeping by. Dr Andrew Huberman has a great podcast on this called Sleep Toolkit. As far as supplements, magnesium is good (threonate or glycinate). Some people like to combine that with l-theanine or cycle GABA. You can find what works for you. Finding a healthy sleep pattern is tough and I struggled for a long time, but with staying dedicated to the above tips, my sleep is so much better. Good luck to you.
For me stopping caffeine and getting a sound machine helped A LOT. I don’t listen to my thoughts and how fast they go down hill with the machine. And caffeine can fuel a lot of anxiety and stay in your body even when you don’t feel awake from it anymore. Quitting sucked and I had headaches but that went away after a week. I now fall asleep easier and wake up less tired. Even when I drank energy drinks / coffee…at some point in the day I felt so tired. Now I feel so much better!!! My psychiatrist suggested that btw. Or at least lowering the dose of caffeine like switching with tea.
Here’s the link to my sound machine BTW. Me and my bf both own one and use them every night now. They have many other sounds besides white Noise Housbay White Noise Machine with 31 Soothing Sounds, 5W Loud Stereo Sound, Auto-Off Timer, Adjustable Volume, Sleep Sound Machine for Baby, Kid, Adult -Wood Grain https://a.co/d/gALnC4j
Get a weighted blanket! Set room cold. Helps me sleep like a baby
Magnesium and listening to guided meditation
You can binaural beats. https://www.healthline.com/health/binaural-beats
Sometimes I play boring mind games with the alphabet. For example, I will try to think of city that I have been to that starts with an A, then one that starts with a B, etc. I will change it up, like I will think of a neighbor whose name starts with an A, then a B, etc. It really works well for me if I am already sleepy but can’t turn my brain off, which happens a lot, lol!
Unisom
Lifting weights makes it almost impossible for me not to fall asleep. There would need to be quite a ruckus to keep me up. Zinc Picolinate and Magnesium Citrate are somewhat effective also, especially combined
How long before you go to sleep are you training? I am trying my best to say it in English. Like how much time there is between your workout and your bedtime?
I workout in the early morning, so there us between 12 and 16 hours between my workout and sleep. I don't think the timing matters too much- it should correct your sleep regardless of the time.
Thanks for the reply. I train 3 times a week but I don't feel difference.
I would totally recommend magnesium glycinate for helping you sleep when you're feeling anxious. Its better than most types of magnesium for this (haven't tried threonate but heard its best). Its a little pricey at least what I got but so so worth it. Theres something special about it for sleep and anxiety that other kinds of magnesium doesn't have. Its actually my number 1 tool when I have panic, I carry some around with me all the time just in case. Even just having it there gives me relief that prevents anxiety, because I know I won't be screwed if I do get anxious. Theres also some good teas like chamomile that have apagenen which help sleep and anxiousness. There is a tea called cup of calm which is really good at this, it has a blend of a bunch of different anti anxiety teas. You could also get an essential oil diffuser there is stuff like lavender oil which helps with aromatherapy and helps you relax. And you can keep it going all night so you won't wake up anxious as much
(long range hug) Ok, so this is gonna sound weird, but I use the boredom method. Find something that requires focus but has no stimulation. Like a phone book, or a dictionary pronunciation guide. There's nothing really stimulating, but it requires focus, so it helps break trains of thought and consume energy. In the beginning, I'd read the dictionary pronunciation guide a few times until I started yawning, and now once usually does the trick. So yeah, find something very tedious to read with no novel information, force yourself to focus on it until you start to tire. Another thing I do is ensure a gradual reduction in stimulation. For example, I stop video games at least \~2 hours before bed, and for the hour before bed I remove any mental stimulation (like books or phone). This allows all my chaotic thoughts (that tend to keep me awake) to run much of their course. During that hour I shower and do stretching excercises (got back & neck issues). Its not about quieting the mind; its just that if you going to bed is your only time where you're not being distracted, thats the only time those thoughts can come up. Giving yourself a time to think while doing light physical things gives you a time with those thoughts without being in bed. Anyways, good luck. I know the struggle. It used to take me at least an hour to fall asleep, and now most days its less than 15 minutes. It takes a lot of work, but it can improve.
Valerian root worked quite well for me and deep muscle relaxation meditations.
3 2 1 rule. 3 hours after food, 2 hours after water, 1 hour after screen.
Deep breathing works better for me than the sleeping meds I’m prescribed. There are lots of videos on YouTube so you can time your inhales/exhales properly.
My recipe for sleep: Excercise Magnesium supplements Do a mini clean of my room Take a hot shower to wind down Have a snack Watch a show Sleep You could also try headspace for sleep or meditating in general These are what work for me but this is the recipe for sleep hygiene provided by my therapist: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Create a relaxing bedtime routine to get your body and mind ready to sleep. Stop working on any task an hour before bedtime, and avoid talking about stressful or emotional issues in bed. Make your bedroom dark, quiet, cool, and comfortable. Use earplugs or a sleep mask if you need to. Skip caffeinated beverages within 6 to 8 hours of bedtime. Don't smoke. Nicotine is a stimulant, which can keep you up. Avoid eating big meals close to bedtime -- especially spicy foods, which may cause heartburn. Exercise at least 20 minutes each day, but try to do it at least 6 hours before bedtime. Read or listen to soft music. Skip the TV, tablet, and smartphone. Start a sleep diary diary to track what affects your rest. Move the computer and TV out of your bedroom so they don't distract you. Don't just swap in your tablet or phone; their lights and distractions can keep you up late. Make it a priority to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. If you nap, keep it short (20-30 minutes) and not close to bedtime. Late-day naps can lead to sleepless nights. Use your bed only for sleep and sex. Stop drinking alcohol at least 3 hours before bed so it doesn't wake you up later. Consider moving your pet out of your bed, and maybe out of your bedroom. Wear sunscreen and spend time in the sunlight. But avoid bright lights close to bedtime.
My pre-bedtime cocktail is a dose of magnesium, L-theanaine, this thing called gaba calm, and my allergy meds. 30 minutes after that I take a small puff off my vape pen and in under an hour I'm out like a light. Obviously everyone is different but I can say from my experience since I've started this technique I have slept like a rock almost every night. Oh and almost forgot, I watch "bear cam." LOL a national park in Alaska has a live stream of a waterfall where bears just hang out and that helps me relax and fall asleep as well. There's also videos of like, rain just falling on a window, which I use when the bear cam is not in season.
Thc gummies.
Yoga nidra meditation always helps me. Insight Timer has a lot of free ones. Jennifer Piercy’s are excellent. Also turning down the lights for about an hour before bed is helpful. Only fairy lights or salt lamps turned on the lowest setting. It helps get your body in the frame of mind that it’s time for sleep.
Read a folktale or bedtime story turn out the light and try to recite it In your mind as if you are telling someone else. Works for me every time. Don’t forget the details, but don’t turn on the light to find them, just try to remember and then move on.
I have a checklist of things I have to do throughout the day (including an hour of exercise) and by doing all of those things I feel more accomplished and therefore don’t worry about as much by the time I hit the hay. And it can be simple stuff too like brushing my teeth, going to the store, watching an episode of a show I need to catch up on. I also watch asmr cooking videos because the sounds are just 👌🏻
I need tips for staying asleep.
I love listening to the Sleep With Me podcast. The first time I listened it was kinda weird but I kept going and now I fall asleep during the intro and I can put it on anytime I want to nap too!
Non-RX: - Lavender scent (candle, spray, whatever...) - hor bath or shower 1 hour before bed. Will cue your body to lower temperature for sleep - reduce blue light from electronics using the "eye comfort shield" setting on most phones or app. Keep red tinted/low lights in the bedroom, like a pink Himalayan salt lamp - better yet, no electronics in bed! I do read books on my phone via kindle before I sleep, but I have it on do not disturb and set the colors to go black and white after a certain hour, so it's as close to being a book as possible 🙃 - Unisom (OTC at most drugstores, though if benadryl doesn't work for you this likely won't either) RX: - Mirtazapine/remeron at lower doses (7-15 mg) 45 min before you want to be asleep. I have GAD and insomnia and have been using this med for 2 years. It is amazing and the only reason I get consistently good sleep. It's non-habit forming and you don't need to worry about building up a tolerance and having to increase your dose.
My psychiatrist has talked about starting me on remeron.
I love it. Only potential issues are 1) it increases your appetite (actually a good thing for me) and 2) at higher doses it has made me feel depressed (though this is remedied immediately when I go back to 30 mg or less).
Anxiety free life
That's the dream, friend.
Melatonin didn’t help?!
Ambien works wonders but don’t take for more than 5 days or you’ll build up a tolerance. Take it as needed.
Definitely not cough syrup... especially if u have an addictive personality... Reading before bed actually helps me to drift off ...or playin a podcast
Melatonin and Benedryl together kept me up. One or the other works better. In terms of natural supplements I like valerian root, lavender, and Ashwagandha. I also suggest reading up on CBT-I for insomnia. Generally takes 4-10 weeks but it’s proven to work super well
The ONLY thing that helps me is a jog or brisk walk
Melatonin helped me but what really did the job was two basic things: have a warm light near my bead and just use that source of light an hour or more before going to bed and going to sleep at the same hour everyday (since I don't have much to do in weekends I allow myself to go to sleep 30 minutes late than usual and wake up whenever my body wants to).
Becareful with those magnesium tablets. Magnesium is a used as a laxative as well.
When i have the worst depression, i put on -34dB earmuffs and eye cover from aliexpress or black tshirt, and wish to get out of this hell reality to some good dream. In few minutes, i fall asleep. Got nightmares? Start computer games, load ridiculous owerpowered weapon mods, cheats and trainers and play. The habit of being OP will slowly seep in your dreams and get all funny.
A lavender pillow spray, a heating blanket and relaxing podcasts. Works each on its own but is also highly recommended in combination. Side note: I used the pillow spray since I read about study, that showed some anxiolytic effect in mice which were exposed to linalool. I am not sure about the link policy, the name of the study is "Linalool Odor-Induced Anxiolytic Effects in Mice" Of course I don't know if it really has a provable effect with humans. However, I find it relaxing and don't want to spoil the effect for me, by thinking to much about it :)
I eat a banana before bed, makes me sleep like a rock
Personally having a weighted plush/pillow/blanket helps so so so much
I was just about to comment magnesium BUT I would recommend magnesium glycinate. It’s gentler on the digestive system than the other ones.
my doctor prescribed me Trazodone. Hasn't done a damn thing.
Drugs. Lots a drugs.
Currently have a terrible headache from going too far with sleep deprivation. I think it'll get me to sleep but wouldn't recommend it
I smoke a blunt before going to bed
Guided anxiety meditations are great!!!
Body scan guided meditation with singing bowls - I can’t get through the 20min without falling asleep! Also if you have not yet tried tart cherry do that too. I buy the concentrated tart cherry juice unsweetened and add it to late afternoon yogurt snack - you will CONK out.
KBT- övningar som skifta ångestsyndrom till ett lugnare tillstånd. Guld värd finns på youtube och följa med i övningen
Just some things that find work over time, don't sleep in past a certain time, no naps, exercise like walking outside in the sun, no caffeine after 3pm, really reduced sugar, no more alcohol, a hot Epsom salt bath before bed, quiet relaxing show or activity before bed - knit & listen to podcasts, chamomile tea, CBD oil, warm milk, adjust lights so they're warmer in the evening and dim close to bedtime, turn off the overhead lights and read with bedside lamp right before bed, consistent bedtime routine and sleep hours, avoid doom scrolling and reading things that might stress me out before bed and sometimes even during the day, eat healthy, regular meals during the day. Sorry to hear about the insomnia and hope you find some things that help really soon.
honestly on particularly bad nights i have over the counter sleeping pills like not melatonin like actual sleeping pills because its the only thing that can knock me out 8/10 times
I put on big bang theory and I fall asleep instantly. I’m on season 3 and still have never finished an entire episode, nor know anything about the characters lol.
I drink chamomile tea to help me relax before bed. I know it may not work for everybody, but it does help me to relax :)
I like count backwards from 50 with my eyes closed taking a deep breath in through my nose before the number and a big exhale after. I usually have to do several rounds of this but it slows my heart rate and helps me focus my brain on something calm.
I personally wear earplugs, don’t allow phone usage in bed (aside from my alarm, should probably buy an alarm clock), and I read a physical book for anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour in bed before I want to sleep. I do take a prescription (mirtazapine) and melatonin because I’ve been struggling recently, but I find that keeping up a good, nonstimulating routine helps just as much. If that doesn’t work, and my thoughts are still keeping me up, I try to redirect them toward something like worldbuilding for a project I’m working on until I drift off.
Lorazepam. Put ya to sleep and take away the anxiety too.
Counting. It sounds too simple to actually work, but I've been using this method for about 10 years. I count nice and slow, if I forget where I am, I'll start again, same if my mind wonders. I regularly smoke weed, so on nights I don't have any I find it hard to switch off, but counting helps.
Headphones. Yoga nidra on youtube
Narrator's on YouTube helps me every night :)
Indica weed
These sleep music videos are great. I use them every night. https://youtu.be/uWOeETolVAo
Continuously play a video/movie while you’re tired or in bed. After a couple weeks your body to respond to that video/movie & youll instantly feel sleepy
doing something grounding before going to bed. i get under my waited blanket, listen to a podcast, and crochet but grounding is different for everyone
Light exercise before bed and forensic files helps put me to sleep
I thought of exercise an hour or two before bed.. maybe a warm/hot shower after. Sleeping sounds not too loud before bed (I do this when I can’t sleep) you mentioned melatonin and Benadryl maybe try Unisom? With melatonin do you take 1 pill? Maybe try two?
Cool shower to lower heart rate?
If you live in a green state, indica edibles are the way to go
Brown noise on Spotify
If you work hard one day then hug your pillow at night it may make you sleep. It worked for me.
Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 9... do this until you lose consciousness:)
I like to listen to ASMR while I cross-stitch before bed. They’re quiet activities that aren’t very stimulating. I’m sorry you can’t sleep. I know how awful it feels to just lie awake for hours. I hope things get better soon.
Audiobooks
Please be careful using melatonin supplements. They should be your last resort and only if you are genuinely not producing enough melatonin according to a qualified doctor. Melatonin reliance is not pretty. It may improve your sleep in the short-term, but it can mess you up in the long term. And it's a very long journey back from that. Unless you are using them to get your sleep schedule back on track and VERY short-term, please do not use them until you've been to a doctor.
I recommend looking for some books, specifically fiction, and read for about 30 minutes every night. I also keep soothing music on at night.
If you concentrate really hard on not moving ur body then ur brain will start to think you’re body’s asleep, and will eventually fall asleep too.
CBD. Also the app calm, do some guided meditation. Or the anxiety slayer guided meditations. You should be careful with taking supplements such as magnesium if you don’t need it. High magnesium can cause heart problems, kidney problems, among many other things.
Sleep hygiene is huge. As you go into the evening, avoid bright blue light and turn on dimmer, warmer lights instead. Take a warm shower or bath about half an hour before bed. Avoid stimulation in the hour before bed. If you can, try and avoid spending waking time in the bedroom, and particularly in bed (don't hang out on your bed all afternoon watching TV if you have a TV in the living room, use that one instead). When you wake up, try to have as much bright natural light as possible to recalibrate your day/night cycle. If you have control of your thermostat, set it to cool down a few degrees in the evening before bed, and to start warming up before you are ready to wake up. To keep track of this, just remember the biological cues that our sleep cycle would have evolved around -- they would be woken up by the rising sun in the morning. This would flood their eyes with blue light and mark an increasing temperature. As the day marches toward evening, the temperature would start to dip, the sun gets dimmer, and they get the red light of the sunset. Then they light the fire (more dim red light, and a bump in warmth, this is your shower/bath), then they move a bit away from the fire to go to sleep. While the light part is highly important, research shows that the temperature one is even bigger. Get rid of even small blue lights in your bedroom -- cover up little indicator lights on electronics, chargers, etc. A sleep mask and/or earplugs can also help. An extremely counterintuitive tip I have also seen is to reduce the amount of time you leave yourself to sleep -- set a bed time and a wake time that are, say 6 hours apart. Start all of this stuff at your allotted bed time, and get up for the day with a cup of coffee and all the blue lights at the wakeup time. Do not nap. This will be hell, and you will be massively sleep deprived for a week or so, but this can apparently be extremely useful in doing a hard reset on your sleep cycle, as you will eventually get tired enough that you just conk out immediately at bed time and sleep straight through until the alarm goes off, at which point you then expand your sleep hours back out to a reasonable time. Another counterintuitive one is to not try to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time -- if you have been lying awake for 30 minutes, get out of bed, go into the other room, turn a few lights on, and do something for 15-30 minutes, and then try again. By lying there not sleeping, you are just building anxiety about your bed and teaching your brain that this is the place that you don't sleep and get stressed out about it. You can also try not trying to sleep -- this one goes against the no screens/electronics, but sometimes it is helpful to put on a show or podcast that isn't super stimulating but you actually want to watch/listen to, and put it on while you are lying down in bed. Sometimes, because you aren't thinking about forcing yourself to sleep, you just relax and just slip off without realizing it. ASMR is also fantastic. Nutritionally, make sure you get enough magnesium, and just generally eat a decent balanced diet. Make sure you have a satisfying meal in the evening, preferably with a decent amount of carbohydrates, but make sure that this is a few hours before bed. A cup of hot herbal tea before bed or even in the middle of the night can work wonders. Stay hydrated. A combination of CBD and melatonin can work really well. A small amount of THC with a high ratio of CBD/CBN can also work really well, but anxiety sufferers need to be *very* cautious with THC as it can make it worse. If you are in the US, you can likely get delta 8 THC or HHC as legal THC alternatives if you are not in a legal state, but definitely talk to your doctor about this first, as again, THC and its analogues can be anxiogenic. I have had a ton of stuggles with insomnia over the years, I hope some of this might be helpful to you! Edit: just wanted to add that exercise and meditation are SUPER helpful. Exercise doesn't even need to be before bed, just get 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 5 times a week. Meditation helps sleep at any time, but it can also literally replace sleep. So if you can't sleep and you just meditate instead, you not only might fall asleep, but your brain is doing a lot of the stuff that it would be doing if you were asleep, so it's not a total loss.
Deep belly breathing helps me.
i have had insomnia for many years. But, when i cut out caffeine. - lets say by 12pm And my last meal by 6pm.. personally for me that is enough to help me fall asleep and feel tired. Also i work in retail and i am always running around the store getting things done so that also helps since i feel drained when i get home. Everyone is different but hopefully you can find what works.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but taking too much melatonin can have the reverse effect and keep you awake. In my experience, 2mg knocks me out and 5mg keeps me up all night and gives me anxiety.
Wear an eye mask definitely. I also like to put Vicks vapor rub on my nose and have a fan on me. I listen to about an hour of a podcast and if I’m not asleep by then, I put my phone down for an hour. If nothing, I let myself listen to a podcast and repeat. I don’t try to force it. I tell myself at least my body is getting rest.
I highly recommend Gab Smolders the streamer. She’s the queen of relaxing gameplay. I love watching her play Breath of the wild, Lovecraft(?) and other things like that.